Performance, Concept and Narrative 

Concept  

A concept music video will traditionally feature thematic/symbolic ideas, for example it may feature certain locations and props that have connotations of certain things e.g. a graveyard connotes death. It may also feature the use of montage heavily with the use of images to create meaning however this sometimes leads to it being contradictory. Another convention of concept music videos is the way in which lighting is used, this links back to the idea of symbolism so dark lighting maybe used to suggest  a low mood. The pace of the editing can also help create meaning and build it up to a climax, so a lot of shots are only two seconds long in order to quickly build meaning. With regards to Goodwins theory the idea of visuals matching the lyrics can be applied to concept music videos quite a lot however more often than not visuals contradict the lyrics in concept videos. Concept music videos can usually be described as pushing the boundaries, wether it be the actual concept or the camerawork and many of the micro elements, within a concept video you expect to see a lot experimenting from the director with new techniques and what not.  Finally, within the concept idea different themes are often explored by certain genres for example love and is often displayed in the pop genre.

Performance 

Performance music videos are pretty self-explanatory, the video will feature the band members performing with there instruments. It can be live stage performance, with shots of the band playing and then shots of the audience spectating the performance. They may also feature the artists in 'real life' situations, for example warming up, backstage or just messing around. Another prominent convention of performance videos are the need for lots of close ups of the artist, however there is a difference of which band members will get the most camera time and which will not, for example the best looking band member and lead singer is more likely to get more camera time than the drummer. The video will also feature a specific visual style that goes with the artist/band  e.g. particular clothing, actions, props and types of images. Often artists will perform in unusual locations such a rooftop, on top of a bus or just in a field.

Narrative 

Narrative music videos will often tell a story for the duration of the song which may relate to what is being sung by the artist. A frequent example of this is a love song which will follow the course of a relationship and its deterioration and we as the audience will spectate it for the duration of the song. So a narrative music video can be described as a 'mini-film' as it contains the same structure as a film; beginning, middle and end. This is also capitalized upon when promoting a film, filmmakers may centre a certain song that is about to be released parallel to the release of the film and make the music video, clips of the upcoming film (if it can relate to the lyrics) to boost publicity for both parties.